Indigenous Players

When Maley Hayward came up from Tambellup in 1928 to play a season with Claremont, he little knew that he was to be the forerunner of a great contingent of Aboriginal players who were to entertain the Tigers’ supporters with magnificent displays of football skills. Many of these Aboriginal players went on to make their names household words not only in Western Australia but also in Australia. Indigenous family members also achieved amazing success in football at Claremont including the Krakouer, Kickett, Lewis and Mitchell families.

It is very hard to define the extra dimension that many Aboriginal players bring to the game, but almost to a man they exhibit extraordinary ball-handling skills and superior pace off the mark.